1979–80 Boston Bruins season

NHL team season

1979–80 Boston Bruins

Division| 2nd Adams
Conference| 3rd Wales
1979–80 record| 46-21-13
Home record| TBD
Road record| TBD
Goals for| 310
Goals against| 234
Team information
General manager| Harry Sinden
Coach| Fred Creighton
Harry Sinden
Captain| Wayne Cashman
Alternate captains| None
Arena| Boston Garden
Average attendance| 12,365 (84.3%)
Team leaders
Goals| Rick Middleton, Peter McNab (40)
Assists| Rick Middleton (52)
Points| Rick Middleton (92)
Penalty minutes| Terry O'Reilly (265)
Plus/minus| TBD
Wins| Gerry Cheevers (24)
Goals against average| Gilles Gilbert (2.73)

<- 1978–79

1980–81 ->

The 1979–80 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 56th season. In the first round of the NHL Draft, the Bruins drafted defenseman Ray Bourque. The Bruins had two coaches during the season, Fred Creighton had a record of 40 wins, 20 losses and 13 ties, while Harry Sinden had 6 wins and 1 loss. The Bruins lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions for the second season in a row, this time it was the New York Islanders in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The last remaining active member of the 1979–80 Boston Bruins was defenseman Ray Bourque, who retired after the 2000–01 season, right after winning the Stanley Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.

## Offseason[edit]

Don Cherry was fired after the 1978–79 season. Fred Creighton, former coach of the Atlanta Flames was brought in to coach the Bruins.

## Regular season[edit]

General Manager Harry Sinden fired Coach Creighton with 15 days to go in the regular season despite the Bruins' winning record with Creighton. Sinden, who had coached before, took over coaching duties as well.

### Divisional standings[edit]

Adams Division | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts

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Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 47 | 17 | 16 | 318 | 201 | 110
Boston Bruins | 80 | 46 | 21 | 13 | 310 | 234 | 105
Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 36 | 28 | 16 | 311 | 253 | 88
Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 35 | 40 | 5 | 304 | 327 | 75
Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 25 | 44 | 11 | 248 | 313 | 61

[1]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents[edit]

Adams Division record vs. opponents

#### Vs. Wales Conference[edit]

Vs. Adams Division

| 1979–80 NHL records[2]

Team  | BOS | BUF | MIN | QUE | TOR | Total
Boston | — | 2–1–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 12–3–1
Buffalo | 1–2–1 | — | 2–1–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 10–4–2
Minnesota | 2–2 | 1–2–1 | — | 2–1–1 | 2–2 | 7–7–2
Quebec | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–2–1 | — | 3–1 | 5–10–1
Toronto | 0–4 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — | 3–13–0

Vs. Norris Division

| 1979–80 NHL records

Team  | DET | HFD | LAK | MTL | PIT | Total
Boston | 2–1–1 | 2–1–1 | 2–1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 9–8–3
Buffalo | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–0–1 | 1–1–2 | 4–0 | 14–3–3
Minnesota | 1–2–1 | 4–0 | 0–2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 9–8–3
Quebec | 1–2–1 | 1–1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2–1 | 2–2 | 6–10–4
Toronto | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 9–10–1

#### Vs. Campbell Conference[edit]

Vs. Patrick Division

| 1979–80 NHL records

Team  | ATL | NYI | NYR | PHI | WSH | Total
Boston | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1–2 | 2–1–1 | 12–5–3
Buffalo | 3–0–1 | 2–1–1 | 2–1–1 | 0–3–1 | 4–0 | 11–5–4
Minnesota | 1–1–2 | 2–0–2 | 2–1–1 | 1–3 | 3–0–1 | 9–5–6
Quebec | 0–3–1 | 0–4 | 1–2–1 | 0–3–1 | 1–1–2 | 2–13–5
Toronto | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1–2 | 3–1 | 10–8–2

Vs. Smythe Division

| 1979–80 NHL records

Team  | CHI | COL | EDM | STL | VAN | WIN | Total
Boston | 2−2 | 2−1−1 | 4−0 | 1−1−2 | 1−0−3 | 3−1 | 13−5−6
Buffalo | 1−1−2 | 3−1 | 2−1−1 | 2−2 | 1−0−3 | 3−0−1 | 12−5−7
Minnesota | 1−2−1 | 3−1 | 1−1−2 | 3−1 | 1−2−1 | 2−1−1 | 11−8−5
Quebec | 1−2−1 | 3−1 | 2−2 | 2−2 | 2−2 | 2−2 | 12−11−1
Toronto | 0−4 | 3−0−1 | 1−2−1 | 2−2 | 3−1 | 4−0 | 13−9−2

## Schedule and results[edit]

1979–80 Game Log

November

| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location/Attendance | Record

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December

| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location/Attendance | Record

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January

| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location/Attendance | Record

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February

| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location/Attendance | Record

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March

| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location/Attendance | Record

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April

| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location/Attendance | Record

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1979–80 Schedule

### Playoffs[edit]

* Lost quarter-finals (4-1) to New York Islanders
* Won Preliminary Round (3-2) over Pittsburgh Penguins

[3]

## Player statistics[edit]

### Regular season[edit]

Scoring
Player  | Pos  | GP  | G  | A  | Pts  | PIM  | +/-  | PPG  | SHG  | GWG

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Rick Middleton | RW | 80 | 40 | 52 | 92 | 24 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 4
Peter McNab | C | 74 | 40 | 38 | 78 | 10 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 9
Jean Ratelle | C | 67 | 28 | 45 | 73 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 1
Raymond Bourque | D | 80 | 17 | 48 | 65 | 73 | 52 | 3 | 2 | 1
Terry O'Reilly | RW | 71 | 19 | 42 | 61 | 265 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 5
Dick Redmond | D | 76 | 14 | 33 | 47 | 39 | 37 | 6 | 0 | 5
Bob Miller | C | 80 | 16 | 25 | 41 | 53 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2
Stan Jonathan | LW | 79 | 21 | 19 | 40 | 208 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 3
Al Secord | LW | 77 | 23 | 16 | 39 | 170 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 2
Dwight Foster | RW | 57 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 42 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2
Bobby Lalonde | C | 71 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 28 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0
Wayne Cashman | LW | 44 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 19 | -3 | 3 | 1 | 2
Craig MacTavish | C | 46 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2
Rick Smith | D | 78 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 62 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2
Mike Milbury | D | 72 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 59 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0
Brad Park | D | 32 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 27 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2
John Wensink | LW | 69 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 110 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2
Brad McCrimmon | D | 72 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 94 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 1
Don Marcotte | LW | 32 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1
Bobby Schmautz | RW | 20 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 8 | -1 | 4 | 0 | 0
Gary Doak | D | 52 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 45 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0
Tom Songin | RW | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Gilles Gilbert | G | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Marco Baron | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Yves Belanger | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Gerry Cheevers | G | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Doug Morrison | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Dennis O'Brien | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0
Jim Stewart | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0

Goaltending
Player  | MIN  | GP  | W  | L  | T  | GA  | GAA  | SO

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Gerry Cheevers | 2479 | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 116 | 2.81 | 4
Gilles Gilbert | 1933 | 33 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 88 | 2.73 | 1
Yves Belanger | 328 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 3.48 | 0
Marco Baron | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3.00 | 0
Jim Stewart | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 15.00 | 0
Team: | 4800 | 80 | 46 | 21 | 13 | 230 | 2.87 | 5

### Playoffs[edit]

Scoring
Player  | Pos  | GP  | G  | A  | Pts  | PIM  | PPG  | SHG  | GWG

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Peter McNab | C | 10 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1
Raymond Bourque | D | 10 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0
Terry O'Reilly | RW | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 69 | 2 | 0 | 1
Brad Park | D | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0
Dwight Foster | RW | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1
Rick Middleton | RW | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0
Wayne Cashman | LW | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0
Bob Miller | C | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0
Craig MacTavish | C | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0
Don Marcotte | LW | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1
Dick Redmond | D | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0
Al Secord | LW | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0
Brad McCrimmon | D | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0
Rick Smith | D | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0
Mike Milbury | D | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0
Bobby Lalonde | C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0
Gerry Cheevers | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Gary Doak | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Stan Jonathan | LW | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0
Jean Ratelle | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
John Wensink | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0

Goaltending
Player  | MIN  | GP  | W  | L  | GA  | GAA  | SO

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Gerry Cheevers | 619 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 32 | 3.10 | 0
Team: | 619 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 32 | 3.10 | 0

[4]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Awards and records[edit]

### Records[edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (March 2013)

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### Milestones[edit]

Regular Season

Player | Milestone | Reached

## Transactions[edit]

### Trades[edit]

### Free agents[edit]

| Player | Former team | Contract Terms

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| Player | New team

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### Claimed from waivers[edit]

| Player | Former team | Date claimed off waivers

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## Draft picks[edit]

Boston's picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft were as follows:

Round  | #  | Player  | Position  | Nationality  | College/Junior/Club team (League)

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1 | 8 | Ray Bourque | Defense |  Canada | Verdun Éperviers (QMJHL)
1 | 15 | Brad McCrimmon | Defense |  Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
2 | 36 | Doug Morrison | Right Wing |  Canada | Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
3 | 57 | Keith Crowder | Right Wing |  Canada | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
4 | 78 | Larry Melnyk | Defense |  Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
5 | 99 | Marco Baron | Goaltender |  Canada | Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
6 | 120 | Mike Krushelnyski | Center |  Canada | Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)

## See also[edit]

* 1979–80 NHL season

## Farm teams[edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010)

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## Awards and records[edit]

* Ray Bourque, Calder Memorial Trophy Winner

## References[edit]

* Bruins on Database Hockey
* Bruins on Hockey Database
* Bruins on Hockey Reference

1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152\. ISBN 9781894801225.
2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
3. ^ 1979-80 Boston Bruins Games - Hockey-Reference.com
4. ^ "1979-80 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2009.

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1979–80 NHL season

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*[GP]: Games played
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[Pts]: Points
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